Safety recommendations for fish farming giant after worker’s death

A salmon farming giant has been issued with safety recommendations after the death of a fish farm worker who drowned after being crushed between two boats.

Clive hen dry ,58, plunged into the water from a feeding barge ladder while trying to move between a pair of vessels on february 18 last year at Ardintoul Point in Loch Alsh in the Scottish Highlands.

He was severely injured after being crushed between the two, and despite a fellow fish worker grabbing his life jacket, Mr Hendry slipped out of it and into the water, said a fatal accident report from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB). The Ardintoul assistant manager was pulled from the water but could not be revived. The report concluded that the "conduct of the boat transfer had not been properly planned or briefed and was not adequately supervised or controlled".

Salmon farming firm Mowi Scotland Ltd has been advised to "fully implement a safety management system across its fleet, as well as ensuring that it has appropriate marine expertiseto over see its marine operations ", said the MAIB.

Its report found that:

• The transfer of workers by boat had not been properly risk assessed, and safe systems of work had not been put in place.

•Crews had not conducted regular" man over board" recovery drill sand were not familiar with the vessel' s recovery equipment.

• Mowi Scotland Ltd did not have an effective marine safety management system and lacked staff with the experienceto over see its marine operations.